* Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), departed for Russia on Sunday afternoon, the official Korean Central News Agency said early Tuesday in an email obtained by Xinhua.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing will discuss during their meeting bilateral contacts at the "highest-level" by the end of the year, Russian agencies cited Kremlin's spokesman as saying on Tuesday.
* U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to the U.N. General Assembly from September 19-20, the White House said Tuesday.
* The Philippines' finance minister on Tuesday expressed optimism that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr will approve a proposal to cut tariffs on imported rice, and that the measure could be implemented as soon as next month.
* India's Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday he plans to propose imposing an additional 10% tax on diesel engine vehicles. The minister added he will make this proposal to the finance minister later in the day.
* OPEC on Tuesday stuck to its forecasts for robust growth in global oil demand in 2023 and 2024 citing signs that major economies are faring better than expected despite headwinds such as high interest rates and elevated inflation.
* Britain's BAE Systems BAES.L, Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 7011.T, and Italy's Leonardo LDOF.MI have agreed the next steps to deliver the concept phase of a next-generation combat aircraft, BAE Systems said on Tuesday.
* Thailand's industrial confidence fell to a one-year low in August as weak purchasing power among trade partners weighed on demand for industrial goods, data showed on Tuesday.
* The Philippines central bank expects to revert back to target inflation by the fourth quarter barring unforeseen shocks, the Deputy Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Francisco G Dakila Jr said on Tuesday.
* Poland's economy is projected to grow by 0.5 percent and the country's headline inflation is expected to reach 11.4 percent in 2023, the European Commission said in its summer economic forecast published on Monday.
* Citing the recent increase in COVID-19 infections, doctors in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, are urging the public to voluntarily wear face masks again to protect themselves and others.
* Villagers in parts of Morocco devastated by the country's biggest earthquake in over a century camped outside for a fourth night on Monday, as the death toll rose to more than 2,800 people.
* At least 2,300 people were killed and more than 5,000 others went missing in the Libyan city of Derna after heavy floods swept eastern part of the country on Sunday, Libya's health ministry said on Tuesday.
* Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday declared a three-day mourning to show solidarity with Morocco and Libya after the two countries were hit by natural disasters, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.
* Spain will spend more than 12 billion euros ($12.85 billion) to alleviate the impact of the long-running drought afflicting the country, Environment Minister Teresa Ribera said on Tuesday.
* Israel is mulling a comprehensive climate law that would, for the first time, include a national target for greenhouse gas emission reduction, the country's Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Monday.
* Australia's weather bureau said on Tuesday that El Nino indicators had strengthened and the weather event would likely develop between September and November, bringing hotter, drier conditions to Australia.
* Greece can tap up to 2.25 billion euros in European Funds to tackle the impact of a rainstorm that killed at least 15 people, damaged homes, schools and roads and wiped out crops and animal farms, the EU Commission chief said on Tuesday.
* An offshore earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 rocked Cagayan province in the northern Philippines Tuesday night, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
